by Luna Hunter
“I would not dare, my yali,” Kozus says.
“How did you find me, by the way?”
He taps my ear. “Your translator — it also acts as a transponder.”
“You mean like a tracking device? Wow. In any other circumstance I might find that a little creepy, but thanks the stars for it now I guess. What more does it do?”
Kozus shrugs his massive shoulders. “It records every sound it hears, for diagnostics.”
“You mean I can play everything I heard back to me?”
“I suppose, if you wanted to,” Kozus says. “Why?”
My eyes turn towards Captain Willow — but my heart skips a beat when I see he’s gone. At that moment the ship rumbles, an engine roaring to life and then slowly fading away.
“Willow’s getting away!”
“I can shoot him out of the sky no problem,” Kozus says. “He won’t escape his fate.”
I shake my head. “No, I have a better idea. Let’s head back to the Banks, before he does anymore damage. I’ve got an idea.”
Chapter 15
Sasha
The ride back to the Banks takes half an hour. I spend all of it parked on Kozus’s lap, my arms around his neck as I kiss him slowly, deeply, and passionately.
I savor each and every second of it. They’ll need a crowbar to pry us apart.
“Hold on,” Kozus says between deep kisses. “I want to talk to you.”
“Really?” I say. “I just want to suck on your tongue for a while.”
Kozus grins. “I need to explain myself further. And to tell you that I choose you. No matter the consequences.”
My heart fills with joy at those words. It’s all I ever wanted to hear. We cannot quite consume that promise though — first there needs to be a reckoning.
We touch down on the Banks and rush towards the Presidium. The entire Council has already gathered, and Captain Willow is in the middle of a heated monologue. The moment we enter his eyes grow wide.
“There they are, the monsters that attacked me, left me for dead! Quickly, attack them, kill them before the Aegir unleashes his wicked powers!”
I raise the palm of my hands. “Gentlemen, please allow me to play something for you. It will clear everything up.”
The guards to our sides hesitate. They are young men, not trained killers. Plus, they’re terrified of Kozus.
“Don’t listen to that witch, it’s a trick,” Willow spits. “Kill them! That’s an order!”
“Please, Willow, calm down,” Haas says. “This is still an Alliance vessel, and the rule of law still applies. Miss Rashford, what do you have to say for yourself?”
I unhook the translator device from my ear. Kozus helps me with scrolling back to the conversation in question.
“What’s that?!” Captain Willow screams, delirious now. His face is even gaunter than usual, his eyes red and sunk deeply into his skull, his skin ghostly pale. “Alien weapons! They will hypnotize us, they cannot be trusted, they—”
“I’ve decided to come to my senses and use the capital that we have in order to safeguard humanities future.”
My tiny translator plays Willow’s shrill voice back to me, the microphone amplifying the sound so it reverberates around the room.
“Don’t listen to that,” Willow begs, but Haas shushes him. The recording continues.
“Back off, Willow. Ow, let me go, asshole!”
“Have you figured out what that capital is yet, Sasha? Have you gotten it through that skull of yours? It’s you, my darling. It’s women. I’m going to sell your ass for fuel.”
I shut the translator off. “Do I need to keep going?” I ask. “Do you want to hear how he attacked me, how he kidnapped me and tried to sell me to an alien? I can keep going, you know.”
All eyes slowly turn to Captain Willow, whose face is as red as the sun.
“Or do you want to ask him what has happened to all the missing people that Ship Sec is looking so, so hard for?”
Haas rises slowly from his seat. “My… my daughter.. you… you bastard!”
“You, you don’t understand!” Captain Willow says, his hands raised up in self-defense. “It was for the good of the ship! No! Stop!”
Absolute chaos ensues.
Chairs topple over and stacks of paper fly through the air as the angry mob descends upon Willow. Ship Sec lays down their weapons, not lifting a single finger to defend their overlord.
“Should we stop them?” I ask Kozus.
“No. These are people who have lost mothers, daughters, sisters, wives and children by Willow’s hand.”
My heart hurts thinking about the other women who’ve been through what I’ve been through — except they weren’t rescued by an Aegir warrior.
“Do you think we can find those lost women?” I ask.
Kozus taps his ear, where his comm is located. “I scanned the Qu’uk’s files, and sent out a signal to Aegon with the names of all the buyers mentioned in his logs. Malak will send out ships. If those girls are out there, we will find them.”
My mate grabs my hand and leads me outside, away from the chaos. I’m done with violence, done with revenge. The time has come to celebrate.
On our way out, we bump into Ciara. She flings her arms around me, and I hug her back.
“Ohmygosh, it’s all over the vids — is it true?! Did Willow kidnap you?”
“Uh huh,” I say. “Only Kozus’s timely intervention saved me.”
Ciara turns to my mate and grabs his hand. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she repeats. “You’re a hero.”
“I’d do anything to save my mate,” he replies.
Ciara’s eyes grow wide. “So you two? Finally?!”
I can’t help but laugh. “Yes, yes, you were right, I was wrong. Happy now?”
“I sure am!” She says.
“Now if you’ll excuse us…”
“Right! Go and do… you know!” Ciara winks.
Kozus whisks me away, lifting me up as more and more people stream into the Presidium. The whole ship has heard of Willow’s misdeeds, and they’re not happy.
We’ve got other things on our mind.
Kozus carries me to his ship. The moment we’re through the door, we practically attack one another, our clothes flying off in all directions. His tongue is in my mouth and my hand is on his horn as he enters me, my tunic still bunched up around my waist, my panties dangling from one leg, my back pressed against the door of the ship.
We fuck all of the fear out of our system. Our sex is glorious, passionate and unforgettable. He pounds me harder than ever before, and to my own surprise, I can take all of him, like my body was made for his.
“I thought I lost you,” he growls. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”
“Yes, please,” I moan. “I want to be with you, always.”
“You are mine,” Kozus says. “My mate, my yali, my everything.”
“Yes, I am yours, I am all yours, baby.”
“Yes. Yes, I will put a baby inside of you.”
My eyes grow wide, and a thrill runs down my spine. We hadn’t discussed it before, but… it sounds like everything I ever wanted in life.
“A baby?” I whimper.
“Yes,” he says. Sweat trickles down his broad, blue chest. “I will put an Aegir baby in your belly. You will be my Xeer, my queen, and together, we will rule Kar.”
I rest my hands on his cheeks. He’s stopped his hips, and I can feel his hard cock pulse and throb inside of me. Kozus is right on the edge, I can feel it.
“Yes, please,” I say. “Please knock me up, Kozus. I want your baby.”
The Aegir warlord rams his manhood into me, and a few frantic trusts and deep, passionate tongue kisses later, he unloads his potent seed inside of me, his deep grunts triggering my own orgasm, and in unison we tremble and whimper.
We end up on the floor, a sweaty pile of bodies, kissing and laughing and hugging and touching.
I have no idea w
hat the future is going to bring, but I do know one thing.
I am going to spend it with Kozus by my side….
And there will be babies.
Epilogue
Sasha
A fleet of shuttles descends upon Aegon, packed to the brim with hopeful human colonists. After peace returned to the Banks (Willow got fired out of an airlock by the angry mob), it was quite easy to convince the people to settle on the Aegir planet.
After all, Kozus had saved my life, and their own human leader had betrayed theirs. Willow’s protectionist, xenophobic rhetoric didn’t hold much sway anymore.
Kozus’s ship leads the way. I’m sitting next to him, my hand in his, Ciara riding in the backseat as we lead the future of humanity down to the surface.
“You pulled it off,” Kozus says. “I am proud of you, my yali.”
“Me? You did all of the work,” I say. “Without you, I’d be… well, I don’t even want to think about that.”
“We did it together, then,” Kozus says.
“Agreed. Together.”
“Can you two stop being so adorable?” Ciara calls out from the back. “It’s making me lonely.”
“You wanted this!” I call back. “So no complaining!”
Ciara crosses her arms over her chest. “Where’s my prince, huh,” she mumbles.
Our first stop is Nyrr, where Olivia & Xak and Emma & Malak are waiting for us. We land at the shipyard and take the carriage to Malak’s castle. The line of carriages taking colonists to the castle seems endless.
The moment we arrive, I jump out and run towards Olivia, flinging my arms around her shoulders.
“I’m so happy you’re back!” She cries. “I was worried sick about you when I heard the news!”
“Don’t worry about me, I had an Aegir with me,” I laugh.
“Will you stay here?” Olivia asks.
I look over my shoulder at Kozus. “That depends on how you define here. On Aegon? Most definitely. In Nyrr? … I think I’m going to see some of the countryside first.”
Ciara clears her throat. “By that she means: bang Kozus in his homeland of Kar.”
“Ciara! Language!” I joke.
“What? You think I can’t read the room?” She says. “I think Kozus’s ship flies on sexual energy alone, because you two were practically crackling.”
I tried to keep the heat levels down, but some things just can’t be hidden.
Olivia’s eyes grow wide, and she hits me on the shoulder. “You could have told me! I didn’t know you two were official!”
“Well, we only just decided to… try for a baby,” I admit. “So I guess we’re pretty official, yeah. But what about you, Ciara?” I say. I don’t want to soak up all of the attention. “You got your wish now that I’m mated to Kozus. When is it going to be your big day?”
She looks across the castle ground, eyeing up all the different, gruff soldiers.
“Who knows? My love might just be right around the corner.”
“We’ll help you find it,” Olivia says. “I’ve got a few royals on my mind. And I’m sure Emma knows a prince or two. Let’s go and ask her now!”
Kozus
“To your success!”
Malak, Xak and I toast our cups of starfruit wine. I sink into my chair and take my well-earned victory sip. The females are in the adjacent room, catching up and swapping tales.
The last time I let Sasha out of my sight, she nearly died. I don’t plan to ever let that happen again. Even now, half my attention is focused on the other room. I can vaguely hear them mention the names of other Aegir princes.
As long as I can hear Sasha’s warm, beautiful voice, I am happy.
“How is Emma?” I ask my good friend Malak. “She looks healthy. When is she due?”
“The pregnancy is going well,” Malak says. “This moon or the next, the healers say.”
“You will be a father soon,” Xak growls. “How does that feel?”
“Exciting,” Malak answers. He leans forward on his chair. “And… scary. A baby is so small, so pure, so… perfect. I cannot wait to hold that bundle of joy in my arms.” Malak leans back into his chair, and shakes his head. “The humans have changed us, haven’t they? I couldn’t care less about offspring before I met Emma, but now…”
“Agreed,” Xak says. “We are visiting the healer for a reading tomorrow.”
“Good news, then?” I ask.
Xak raises his cup. “That is what we are expecting, yes.”
“Congratulations,” I say. “I have some good news of my own. I’m sure it is not a secret by now, but I still want to acknowledge it. I have chosen Sasha Rashford as my female Xeer. We will return to Kar tomorrow, where I will tell my father. If he accepts, we will stay, and you will be invited to the mating ceremony, of course. If he doesn’t… we will travel, I think.”
Malak and Xak both raise their cups. “The good news doesn’t relent!” Malak says. “Congratulations, my friend. You deserve each other. And I am sure your father will accept. Kar could not wish for two better rulers.”
I nod thoughtfully. “We will see. We will see. Either way… we are also trying for a baby.”
My two good friends raise their cups once more in salutation, with big smiles on their faces. It’s good to be in their company once again.
Sasha
I run my hands across the smooth fabric of my tunic, straightening it as much as possible. You only get to make a first impression on your father-in-law once.
Your alien king ruler whose never seen a human before father-in-law, that is.
“How do I look?” I ask Kozus. “How’s my hair? Is it too puffy? It feels too puffy. Maybe I should fix it.”
Kozus grabs my shoulders tightly and forces me to look up at him. He’s dropdead gorgeous, as usual, with a sharp bronze suit that complements his blue skin perfectly.
“Be calm, my yali,” he says. “You will do great.”
I could stare down the Council just fine, but meeting my father-in-law? No thank you. I’m a big ball of nerves.
Kozus opens the door and leads me into the Kar throne room. My mouth just about falls open at the splendor I see there. This is no stuffy room high up in a castle — it’s smack dab in the middle of nature, surrounded by trees, the canopy of leaves opening up the middle to let the warm, pleasant sun in. On the throne sits on older Aegir with silver hair. Xeer Khar.
Kozus grabs my hand and leads me forward. I let him do all of the talking, as he explains to his father where he’s been, how he met me, and what I mean to him. The Aegir king listens thoughtfully, his stern gaze not relenting even once.
When Kozus has finished, he sighs deeply and squeezes my hand.
“So there it is, father. I have chosen Sasha Rashford as my Xeer. What do you have to say?”
The king is silent for a moment, looking pensive
“When is the mating ceremony?” He asks finally.
Kozus’s eyes snap up, as do mine. “What do you mean, father?” Kozus asks hesitantly.
“When is the mating ceremony?” He repeats. “If it is soon, we won’t have to uninvite everyone, you know how much of a hassle that is. But if you want to wait a while, then that’s okay, too. Don’t look so surprised, Kozus. You are my son, I want what’s best for you! I am delighted you have found your yali.”
The silver-haired Aegir turns to me, lowering his horns in greeting.
“Welcome, Sasha Rashford, to the Kar family. My son will take good care of you, I am sure of that.”
“So am I,” I answer.
Kozus is speechless. “But, the tradition?”
His father shrugs. “Egos will be disappointed. They’ll get over it. It doesn’t matter. I only care about you, my son. The only reason I picked the Egos princess is because you never brought a girl home.”
“None ever caught my eye,” Kozus says. “Until now. That mating ceremony? As soon as possible, father. As soon as possible.”
Three months later
> Sasha
The Sea of Grass is more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. Green stalks of grass sway in the breeze as far as the eye can see.
Kozus built us a little cabin on wooden poles, in the middle of this wilderness, only reachable by skimmer. It’s our own private little getaway, for when the royal life gets a little hectic.
Our mating ceremony went off without a hitch. I’m not that big on public displays of affection, but Kozus’s heartfelt speech brought tears to everyone’s eyes. It all went by in a big, lovely, pink and blue blur.
Malak and Kozus have both sent out ships to find the lost human girls, the first of which are already trickling back in, so that’s a huge relief.
Emma gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Grayson. He’s got her eyes but her father’s horns — a perfect match. Olivia is pregnant as well, and as for me…
Kozus walks out of the cabin, completely naked, holding two glasses of starfruit wine in his hands. He stops to admire me.
“What?” I ask, as I lay sprawled out sexily on a futon, as naked as can be.
“I pictured this moment,” he says. “This exact moment. The sun setting, your naked body glistening, waiting…”
As he gazes upon me, my attention is drawn to his hardening manhood.
“I’ve pictured this moment as well,” I smirk. “Come here.”
The big blue prince sits down next to me and hands me a glass of wine. I wave it away. “About that,” I say. “I visited the healer yesterday and I’ve got some big news for you…”
I don’t have to finish my sentence.
Kozus flings his arms around me in joy, and I kiss him deeply, and moments later we’re celebrating our coming baby by making love out in the open, in our own little slice of paradise.
Nothing could be better.